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So the HTC Thunderbolt definitely didn’t come out February 14th. The date passed and instead we got a handful of new devices from HTC at Mobile World Congress. That leaves the 24th as the strongest contender for the release date of Verizon’s first 4G LTE handset, right? Well a new inventory screen grab from Best Buy says we might be able to get our hands on it a few days earlier on February 21st. That is the in-stock date listed, and according do our tipsters over at AndroidForums, unless they are specifically told to do otherwise Best Buy stores will sell the phone as soon as they have it.
Even if they wait until a proper launch on the 24th to start peddling the phone, at least we can all rest assured knowing that it is less than a week away at this point. I can’t wait to check out the speeds this thing pulls in over VZW’s LTE network, how about you?
[via AndroidForums | Thanks, jayishere]
thats sick…may god bless me and release it before feb 24
here’s my theory, Verizon will either wait till Thursday or Friday to announce the date to pre-order, pre-orders will start Monday around 3am EST, and they will ship to customers starting mid week to arrive on the launch date of 24th. Hope its true, and I hope they didn’t get rid of 1 year contracts… :(
I don’t get an LTE signal in my area yet but am hoping to get grandfathered in with unlimited 4G for $30/mth when it does arrive in my area.
Well if you think about the Small clip that we see, where the woman is counting the seconds between the lightning and thunder…If you think about it a little, she says 1 mississippi,2,3,1,2,1….that came out on the 15th….she counted 6 numbers which if you count 6 days from then, that makes the 21st, and coincidentally, the last two numbers she says is 21. hmmm, the 21st! Coincidence, I THINK NOT!
here’s the clip if you haven’t already seen it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9h_Klwueks
Pedaling the phone? I assumed it would be battery-operated…
(the word is peddling)
im not sure about htc im not saying i hate them but their screens could be better other than that very good work htc
a buddy of mine that works for verizon called me last night to let me know that he got an e-mail confirming the htc thunderbolt’s launch date as february 21st. :)
I’m a best buy manager and we have the HTC Thunderbolt. The phone is coming out for sale on February 17th.
I went to best buy today. They said they wont be offering this phone on a 1yr contract. That sucks. Anybody heard different?
I just don’t see a attraction to this phone other then its the first Verizon 4g phone…other than that it looks and sounds like every other HTC phone…to me
MensahWatts, first of all being the first LTE phone is going to make a major difference in your browsing/online experience, so that reason alone is a major attraction
Second, it is the first phone with Sense 2.0, which has some nice new features,
third it comes with 40gb storage out of the box (built-in 8g plus included 32g microsd card),
fourth it will be the first verizon phone to get simultaneous voice and data,
and fifth its quadrant scores indicate it not only will be fast because of lte, but is also a very fast phone in its own right, and hands-on demos have indeed shown it to run smooth as silk.
Those are just some reasons I can quickly think of why I’m looking forward to it.
My home area just got lit for LTE last week. I tried an LTE USB modem and SpeedTest.net showed 19.21 Mbps down. I can’t wait for this phone!!!
LOL @ Harry’s comment…Dear Lord, bless me with a Thunderbolt ASAP!
The 21st of Feb would be a fitting day, seeing how it’s President’s Day and the Thunderbolt is the new president of cell phones. Plus I have the day off work. I really hope it is fully functional with Skype, as advertised, but if not, I’d rather have the phone in hand then wait. It will be really nice to be able to Skype with my kids when I am traveling for work. I can’t do that on my work computer. I was playing with the HTC Inspire with Sense 2.0 and I love that interface. HTC really does a good job making the Andriod platform welcoming. Woot woot!
Verizon delayed the launch because they feared a bunch of people who jumped on iPhone pre-orders would have second thoughts and return them, so they moved the Thunderbolt launch outside the 15 day iPhone return window.
John – Are you just messing with us!? I spoke with a local Best Buy manager and he said to still expect the 24th and if something really lucky happens, the 21st. Do different Best Buy’s release stuff at different times? That would be NUTS if I could get the phone tomorrow (the 17th)!! Please tell me you’re being serious Johnny… :)
I really want this phone. Then I am going to change my name to ThunderBillT. I am giving my wife my Dinc…ummm, I mean my Driod Incredible, so I will still get to play with it from time to time.
Release it on Monday so I can enjoy my day off!
BestBuy doesn’t do 1 year contracts
VZW does 1 year contracts
but they’ve yet to announce whether they’ll keep doing it in regards to this phone. if they do, i’m jumping all over it.
also, i’m a little skeptical of believing this (again) as the last screen shot of BB inventory/screen was showing a release date of the 14th…and we all know how that went.
I have been following this phone from day to day and hour by hour. I need to get this monkey off my back, I need get this phone ASAP!
I called around a few Best Buy’s in my area.
Three stores said the release date is the 14th
Two stores said the release date is the 17th
Four stores said the release date is the 24th
No one at best buy knows anything about anything!
Am i understanding this correctly??? I preordered my thunderbolt from best buy like a week and a half ago. And i am about to sign a contract with verizon. will i not be able to sign my new contract at best buy and get the phone for the contracted price?
@hinduguy – I hear you man. I also called a couple local stores and also tried the BB online chat. They just don’t seem to have it together for some reason. It doesn’t seem too difficult for someone at BB operations to send an email to all store managers to give them one consistent message. The only reason I can think of for the inconsistent info is that there is no single guideline, and each store can decide when to release the phone.
2/24 seems like the ‘most likely’ release date due to the whole iPhone return policy issue, which I think is lame. Does Verizon/Apple really have such a big concern with a mass exodus of iPhone buyers to take it back for the TBolt? If so, that just tells me the TBolt is a serious piece of tech!
I doubt the story about Verizon being worried that the iPhone buyers would jump to the T-Bolt. If the iPhone came out the 10th then waiting until the 24th would only exclude those iPhone buyers that got their iPhone on the 10th. What about those who got it the 11th or 12th? The people who got the iPhone of the 10th are probably the die-hard Apple fans who aren’t going to the T-bolt no matter what. Anyway – I’ll be very happy and willing to overlook the release date fiasco if Verizon lets it go on the 21st or earlier. Hopefully earlier. 3-2-1 BOOM
I really, really hoped I’d have this phone by now…this sucks.
@Tyler – what you wrote makes perfect sense. I have to wonder if technical issues are making it difficult to pin down the date.
i just called a 3 best buys out here in long island new york 2 of them said the 21st and another one said tommrrow the 17th, dont know who to beleive, i have my pre order in either way but it would be nice to get it early.
die hard apple fans who bought the phone on the 10th will keep their iphone. all other iphone buyers dont even know about this phone. they dont keep up with tech and thats why the got an iphone. most of them dont know the difference in the iphone 4 and 4g. they think it is the same thing. i do not see this phone being a very popular device at all. i think it is great and i am getting one, but you need to consider the mind set of the normal consumer. i think the whole 14 days after the iphone thing is just nonsense. either way i will have this phone (hopefully) in less then 10 days.
Can somebody please explain o me what the benefit is of buying a cell phone from best Buy rather than the Verizon Store itself?? It is not cheaper so why buy it from a 3rd party? I don’t know about you but I feel a lot more safe buying from the actual carrier.
Everybody keeps obsessing Best Buy… Best Buy
Why not get it from Verizon when it comes out. Why is Best Buy even selling phones.
I just got back from a Verizon store where I was told they just don’t have a firm date at all, but they are still hearing the 24th. Personally the 14 would have been bomb, but thats gone, the 17th even better cause that is tomorrow, but the 21st or 24th just seem so FAR off right now. I just want my TBolt NOW already!
why do people by cell phones from best buy instead of at the carrier store. what is the benefit?
Fuck this waiting !
I am very excited that we are less than 10 days either way to get this phone. Tp answer Dave, a couple of reasons exist to get phones from Best Buy
1. They have the buy back program for the people that just have to have the latest and greatest phones.
2. They have exclusive rights to the sale of Thunderbolt (for now), which means instead of ALL phones going through Verizon and ALL orders getting pushed back due to high demand, they can have Best Buy release them also, so they don’t become overwhelmed with orders and then they would have to push back your shipment date. That would suck even more than waiting for the release date, due to you would’ve already paid for it, but wouldn;t get it for another 2 weeks or so. just look at the oder for the iphone on verizon’s website, if you order today it say it is expected to ship by Feb. 28…..that’s crazy. when i buy something, i want it now, or atleast within a day or two MAX.
ANother reason to buy via BB is that they don’t make you send in rebates, they do all that behind the scenes. T-Bolt will cost $350 at verizon and come with a $100 mail-in rebate (rumor). It will be $250 at BB and you will have no rebate to mail. However, if there is no advantage to the BB pre-sale, I’ll be pissed at BB. I think verizon and BB should release the phone to people who got in on the pre-sale on the 21st and everyone else on the 24th.
The longest I am waiting is the 24th. Any longer and I am getting the HTC Inspire for $150 less and only a 1 yr contract on AT&T. It’s not nearly as good of a network, but it’s ready now and it’s cheap.
I got an email from BB Feb 17th around 1700, thanking me for signing up for BB Mobile notifications, and that my phone is ready for pick up on the 26th. Also be noted that when I pre-reg, they said I was the first on that stores list. So I’m expecting a 26th due date.
I don’t think Verizon or BB have a damn clue when this phone will be released. Bunch of amatures.
I think that what was said earlier holds very true in my mind. With all the delays, it wouldn’t be such a terrible wait, to see whats on the horizon by the time they decide to try and get us back on the bandwagon for the thunderbolt. I was very excited to pick up this phone, and sign up for that two year agreement. But now, don’t really want it. I heard the HTC Pyramid on the TMobile network might be a killer phone!!!!
I made a few phone calls today to 3 Best Buy stores and one said 21, another 28, the other said they didn’t know at all when it would be in stock. I also called Verizon and the sales rep said 28. I will go on Monday to the store that said they would have it by 21 and check what’s going on. 2 different people from that store mentioned a special shipment. I think the whole thing is ridiculous…will post any news
I need, I need, I need…
I want, I want, I want…
I can’t wait…
IT’S JUST A F’ING PHONE YOU LOSERS!!!!
GET A LIFE!!!
Just saw the Thunderbolt in the Best Buy flyer. Called the store and an associate said the phone won’t be released until the 28th. Said the ad was printed before they knew.
I saw the BB flyer and called too. Associate didn’t know why the thunderbolt is in the add. They haven’t received a shipment yet. He too is waiting for one.
hey (Ihavealifeuneed12)(40) obviously you don’t have a life that you are sticking your nose where you shouldn’t. You don’t have to be on this website, why don’t you take a hike!! and stop wasting time posting stupidity! By the way, you are stupid and an BIG IDIOT!
I just called a few minutes ago to confirm my pre-ordered thunderbolt for tomorrow, 24th, and they said they pushed it back again. I’m pissed of because I’m getting close to my 30-day period on my iPhone 4 therefore if it goes over 30 day I won’t be able to trade. I really hope it is the 28th.